Method of and apparatus for filling aerosol containers



Aug. 22, 1967 E. J. HONISCH METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING AEROSOLCONTAINERS Filed fipril 1; 1964 5-Sheets-Sheet 2 51 f-IO/ Aug. 22, 1967J. HONISCH METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLING AEROSOL CONTAINERS FiledApril 1. 1964 5 SheetS-Sheet S Arrokmak Aug. 22,1967

Fi-l'ed April 1, 1964 METHODOF AND APPARATUS m IFILLING AEROSOLCONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Awavraz 560A) da/ymv/v/m/v/sw/ Arfozmsk E.J. HONISCH 3,33 0

Aug. 22, 1967 E. J. HAONISCH .METHOD'OF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLINGAEROSOL CONTAINERS Filed April 1. 19:54

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 H w N W 4 w d f United States Patent 3,336,720 METHODOF AND APPARATUS FOR FILLIN G AEROSOL CONTAINERS Egon Johann Honisch,Kreuzstrasse 3, Rapperswil, Saint Gall, Switzerland Filed Apr. 1, 1964,Ser. No. 356,554 Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 4, 1963,

N 22,985 12 Claims. (Cl. 53-22) Methods of filling and closing aerosolcontainers as well as machines for performing this work are alreadyknown to the art. An aerosol container or sprayer comprises a containerproper, for instance in the form of a metal can, a flask or a bottle,containing the substance that is to be sprayed, say an insecticide, anda propellant gas, such as Freon, and an aerosol valve with which thecontainer is closed.

There are two kinds of aerosol valve. In the first type of valve thewall of the the inside of the mouth of the aerosol container when thisis originally closed. A permanent sealing connection is thus produced.The other type of aerosol valve which is generally applied to glassbottles has the form of a cap, usually consisting of sheet aluminium,the actual valve being contained in the cap which is pushed over theneck of the bottle and affixed, in contradistinction to the method offixing the first described type, by deforming the cap around the neck ofthe container from the outside.

For aflixing the first type of valve which is commercially known in thetrade as a 1" aerosol disc valve, the following methods and machines arealready known:

A can is prepared for filling before it is loaded into the machine byplacing a disc valve loosely on to the mouth of the can. The can is thenpresented to the working head of the machine, which descends and makessealing contact with the shoulder of the can around the circumference ofthe valve. The valve is slightly lifted by suction generated by a vacuumpump. A liquid propellant gas is then forced through the gap between thevalve and the top of the can. Finally, the valve is pushed back on tothe top of the can and then pressed from the inside against the innerwall of the mouth of the can by sealing instruments built into theclosing means. When the operating tools have returned into their formerpositions .the filled and sealed can is removed.

This known method has not become very popular in competition with theconventional method of filling through the valve because it suffers fromserious drawbacks. One of the most important of these is the following:

The disc valve which is placed on the top of the can has a downwardlyopen cylindrical cup of substantially the same diameter as the inneredge of the mouth of the can. If this valve is not introduced in aprecisely vertical direction but at a slight angle it will immediatelyjam, preventing the vacuum pump from lifting the valve. If the valvedoes not rise the substance which is to be filled into the can cannotenter between the top of the can and the valve and is therefore spilledon the top of the valve. The valve is thus even more firmly held downand the entire filling is wasted. Since this is nearly always apropellant it will explosively vaporize. If the propellant gas containsadditives such as pigments, then the surroundings on the factory floormay be badly spattered. Moreover the explosive spatter of liquid maycause injury, particularly to the eyes of personnel.

As known, aerosol valves are fitted with dip tubes or risers made of aplastic material, such as polyethylene, which is unwound from a bobbinand cut to length. These tubes therefore nearly always curl. Moreoverthey are so long that they already touch the floor of the can beforeaerosol valve is pressed against the valve rests on the top of the canfor closing the same. Such bent riser tubes are often the cause ofvalves assuming a canted position in the mouth of the can or even ofspringing out of the opening and coming to rest on the top of the can inan eccentric position. Both causes, namely jamming due to anonhorizontal or eccentric position of the aerosol valve in relation tothe opening in the can are responsible for frequent trouble in massproduction. There is therefore often considerable wastage which farexceeds that experienced in other methods of closing and filling aerosolcans.

As already mentioned, these methods are also inapplicable to the closingof glass bottle valves which must be aflixed by pressure from theoutside.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method as well as anapparatus for overcoming the above described difiiculties and forsecuring certain other advantages. Jamming of the valves due tonon-horizontal position or the crushing of valves by the descendingclosing means when the valves are in an eccentric position is avoided bythe present invention in that the filling head is traversed by anupwardly open longitudinal closing channel extending in coaxialalignment with the mouth of the container which is to be filled. Thecontainer is placed underneath this head and the valve is dropped intothe longitudinal channel from above. A closing element then enters thelongitudinal channel and propels the valve downwards, but not far enoughto prevent the container from being filled through a remaining gapbetween the valve and the container top. Not until after the containerhas been filled is the valve pushed down on to the container or flask.The provision of the said longitudinal closing channel therefore permitsthe aerosol valve to be presented to the container in a precisely axialand central position and at the same time it eliminates the causes oftrouble in known filling methods because the aerosol valve need not belifted before filling begins, and jamming cannot occur because the valvedoes not make contact with the container until the latter has alreadybeen filled.

It also follows that apparatus according to the invention does notrequire a vacuum pump for lifting the valve. This is a matter of specialimportance because the machine based on the proposed apparatus can befully pneumatically operated without electric power, so that inflammablepropellant gases, suoh as butane and propane, can be handled without thehazard of fire. The usual vacuum pumps on the market are all driven byelectric motors. The absence of such pumps is therefore a specialadvantage of apparatus according to the invention.

In machines hitherto known to the art the valve must be placed on thecontainer month before being loaded into the machine. Apart from fullyautomated installations, and particularly in smaller and medium sizedestablishments, two men are therefore needed, namely one for placing thevalve on the container and pushing it towards the machine and a secondfor operating the actual machine. In apparatus according to theinvention one man can place the container in loading position and at thesame time feed the valve into the closing channel. In other words, sucha machine can be entirely operated and run by only one man.

Another major advantage of a machine according to the invention is thatvalves for glass flasks and bottles can be handled in the same way asdisc valves and the same advantages obtained as described.

As already explained, known methods and machines are limited to handlingmetal cans into which disc valves are fitted by pressing them into theinside of the can opening. Glass flasks and bottles which require thevalves to be 'fitted over the bottle necks and secured by pressureapplied from the outside cannot be handled, particularly in view of thefact that glass containers frequently have very irregular shapes, suchas triangular or rectangular cross sections, so that a tight sealbetween the filling head and the shoulder of the bottle or flask isimpossible to achieve and excessive spillage of liquid would be theresult because the inflowing propellant gas or product in conventionalmachines also fills the space between the outside of the neck of thecontainer on the one hand and the wall of the filling head and thewasher at the joint on the other hand. When fitting valves on glassbottles, which embrace the neck of the bottle, and in the case of whichthe sealing washer of the filling head would have to make contact with asurface far down the bottle, for example in bottles with a neck whichdownwardly widens, a very considerable amount of spillage could not beavoided.

The invention provides a method which also permits glass bottles andsimilar containers to be conveniently filled without spillage throughthe gap underneath the raised valve. To this end the seal is not formedon the shoulder of the bottle but by the top edge of a receptacle intowhich the flask or bottle is placed before being filled. A filling tubeadapted to be introduced into the mouth of the bottle discharges theliquid directly into the bottle and prevents it from entering the spacebetween the bottle and the filling head, as is the case in known fillingmethods. Moreover, the provision of the longitudinal closing channelensures that the valve is introduced and presented to the bottle openingin a precisely centered position, permitting the valve to be affixed tothe mouth of the bottle in an absolutely reliable and pressure-tightmanner by sealing instruments which close on the bottle neck from theoutside.

The receptacle used in the method proposed by the present invention alsopermits metal cans to be fitted with disc valves for instance in casesin which the diameter of the can does not exceed or is only slightlylarger than the diameter of the disc valve. In such a case a shoulder onthe can is not needed for forming a sealing contact surface with thefilling head. By placing such cans into a receptacle as described, theformer difficulties are overcome and the can can be satisfactorilyfilled.

The invention will now be described in greater detail by reference toembodiments shown in the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is aschematic elevational section of apparatus according to the presentinvention, principally intended for filling and closing aerosol flasksmade of glass, plastics or metal,

FIG. 2 on a larger scale shows the neck of a flask at the instant anaerosol valve is fitted thereto,

FIG. 3 is a schematic elevational section of modified apparatusaccording to the invention, principally intended for filling and closingmetal aerosol cans with a conventional 1 aerosol disc valve,

FIG. 4 is a detail of an embodiment of the invention in which theclosing means can be swivelled to one side,

FIG. 5 illustrates the principle of operation of a rotary indexingmachine in which the product is admitted through the hollow cent-reshaft of the machine,

FIG. 6 illustrates the principle of operation of a rotary indexingmachine in which the product is admitted through a laterally movablefilling device,

FIG. 7 illustrates the principle of operation of a rotary indexingmachine comprising an additional station, for instance for filling asecond product, and/ or a further station for the introduction of a gasfor flushing out the aerosol container,

FIG. 8 illustrates a suitable form of construction of a centeringelement.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a pneumatic cylinder 1,provided with air entry and outlet openings 2 and 3, a piston 4 with asealing ring 5 and a piston rod 6 supports a receptacle 7 into which theaerosol flask 8 which is to be filled is insertable. To this end pistontil 5 is first completely retracted by the introduction of air throughopening 3 and by exhausting air through opening 2.

The motion of the piston is reversed by exhausting air through opening 3and admitting compressed air through opening 2. A flange 9 carrying awasher 10 at the top of receptacle 7 is thus pressed against theunderside of a filling head 11.

The filling head 11 contains a longitudinal closing channel 12 intowhich the aerosol valve 13 is dropped. For conveniently introducing thevalve into the channel its upper end is slightly outwardly flared.Moreover, in order to prevent the aerosol valve from dropping straightthrough the channel, the inside wall of the filling head contains a ball14, urged to project into the channel by the pressure of a spring 15. Atthe top the longitudinal closing channel is fitted with a sealing sleeve16 adapted to form a seal between the walls of the channel and theplunger 17 of a ram 18.

Substantially the ram comprises a two-stage cylinder 18 containing twopistons 19 and 20 and provided with air entry and outlet openings 21, 22and 23. The two pistons are fitted with sealing rings 24 and 25respectively. If air is admitted at 21 piston 20 is forced to descendand its piston rod 26 pushes piston 19 and its piston rod 27 and aplunger 17 downwards until the aerosol valve 13 in the channel of thefiller head is intercepted by the projecting ball 14. Ring 16 forms aseal between the moving plunger 17 and the inside of the filling head.

A filling tube 28 which passes through a gland 29 in the filling head isadvanced by a pneumatic cylinder 30 until the end of the tube is wellinside the flask 8. The filling tube is advanced and retracted byadmitting and exhausting compressed air through openings 31 and 32respectively. Piston 33 which is provided with a sealing ring 34 is thusretracted or advanced and carries the filling tube with it.

The filling tube is connected by a flexible pipe 35 to the filling valve36 of a metering pump 37. Piston 38 which has a sealing ring 39 andwhich is attached to a piston rod 40 is raised and lowered, as indicatedby a twin-headed arrow 41, by means not specially shown. When the pistonascends, inlet valve 42 opens and the cylinder fills with the liquidwhich is to be pumped into the aerosol flask. The piston or its pistonrod 40 is fitted with adjustable stop means for regulating the stroke.When piston 38 descends the filling valve 36 opens and the product, forinstance a liquid propellant gas such as Freon, is forced through tube28 into the aerosol flask 8. Compressed air is now admitted intocylinder 30 through opening 32, causing the fillihg tube 28 to bewithdrawn from the flask. As soon as this has been done, compressed airis admitted through 22 into the two-stage cylinder 18. Piston 19together with plunger 17 therefore descend and push the aerosol valve 13further down and firmly on to the neck of flask 8.

The valve is then secured by the application of radial pressure by anassembly of closing instruments 43 which press the edges of the valveagainst the periphery of the neck of the flask, deforming the valveimmediately below the thickened lip of the aerosol flask 8.

FIG. 2 illustrates the manner in which the closing instruments 43 pushthe edge of the aerosol valve 13 against the neck of the glass flask 8below the thickened lip 8a of its mouth. The deformation of the aerosolvalve simultaneously causes a rubber washer 13a inside the aerosol valve13 to be pulled tightly down on to an annular rib 8b projecting from thetop of the lip of the flask, thus ensuring the formation of a reliableair-tight seal between valve and flask.

The closing instruments 43 are forced inwards by the downward thrust ofa bevel ring 44 which cooperates with pins 45 to which the closinginstruments are attached and pushes them radially inwards. When the ring44 is withdrawn upwards, the pins 45 are free to be retracted radiallyoutwards by the pull of springs 46.

Ring 44 is actuated by a piston 48 which carries a sealing ring 49, andwhich is reciprocable in a cylinder 47. Piston rod 50 carries a disc 51connected to ring 44 by several vertical columns 52.

Air can be admitted into cylinder 47 through openings 53 or 54 forlowering or raising the piston 48 as may be required. Finally,compressed air is introduced through opening 3 into cylinder 1 and thereceptacle 7 is thus withdrawn downwards away from the filling head 11,permitting the filled and closed flask to be taken out of thereceptacle. By admitting air through opening 23 the two pistons 19 andare lifted and the plunger 17 is withdrawn from the longitudinalchannel, so that a fresh aerosol valve can be dropped into the top ofthe channel. Cylinder 1 is pivotably mounted on a base 56, permittingthe cylinder to be swung away from the machine and glass flasks to beconveniently loaded into or taken out of the receptacle.

When an aerosol valve 13 with a badly bent dip tube is dropped into theclosing channel it is possible for the tube to catch on the edge of thelip of the aerosol flask. This difliculty can be avoided by building acentering element into the bottom end of the closing channel 12. FIG. 8illustrates the construction of such an element. This may have the formof an elastically flexible funnel 55 with a plurality of slits extendingupwards as far as its horizontal fixing flange. The end of the dip tubewill then safely slip into the inside of the flask through this funnel.The slim elastic blades into which the slits divide the walls of thefunnel can yield outwardly when the aerosol valve 13 is forced byplunger 17 on to the neck of the flask.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the pneumatic cylinder 101which is provided with air entry and outlet openings 102 and 103, andwhich contains a piston 104 with a sealing ring 105 and a piston rod 106carries a lifting table 107 for supporting a metal aerosol can 108 whichis to be filled. To this end piston 105 is first lowered by theadmission of compressed air through opening 103 and the exhaustion ofair through opening 102. For raising the table 107 air is admittedthrough 102 and exhausted through 103. The top of the aerosol can 108 isthus pushed against the underside of a sealing ring 110 fitted into thebottom of a filling head 111.

The filling head 111 comprises a longitudinal closing channel 112 intowhich the fresh aerosol valve can be dropped. To facilitate this beingdone the upper opening of the channel is slightly outwardly flared.Moreover, in order to prevent the valve from dropping straight throughthe channel the wall of the channel contains an intercepting ball 114which is urged to project into the channel by a compression spring 115.At the top the closing channel is fitted with a sealing ring 116 whichcooperates with the circumference of the slide 117 of a ram 118 when theslide enters the closing channel 112 after this has been loaded with anaerosol valve 113.

The ram substantially comprises a ram cylinder 118 containing a rampiston 119 with a sealing ring 120. Cylinder 118 is provided with twoair entry and outlet openings 121 and 122. If air is admitted through121 the piston 119 will descend, lowering slide 117 until the aerosolvalve 113 in the closing channel has been pushed into contact with theintercepting ball 114. Ring 116 provides a seal between the slide 117and the inside of the filling head. The end of the hollow slide 117carries a sealing ring 123 which makes a seal with the aerosol valve113.

The filling head contains a duct 124 through which the product that isto be filled, such as the propellant gas Freon, is introduced. This ductis connected with the filling valve 136 of a metering pump 137. Thepiston 138, which carries a sealing ring 139, and piston rod 140 can beraised and lowered as indicated by a'twin-headed arrow 141 by actuatingmeans not specially shown. When the piston ascends the inlet valve 142opens, allowing a metered quantity of liquid to enter. The piston or itspiston rod is provided with adjustable stop means for determining thestroke of the piston. When the piston 138 descends the filling valve 136opens and the product, such as the liquid propellant gas Freon, isforced through duct 124 into the aerosol can 108. During its previousdescent ram piston 119 had been arrested by the piston rod 125 of anarresting cylinder 126. Piston rod 125 belongs to a piston 127 carryinga sealing ring 128. The cylinder is provided with two air entry andoutlet openings 129 and 130. Compressed air is now admitted through 130into the arresting cylinder 126, causing piston 127 to be withdrawn tothe left and thereby to permit the ram piston 119 to continue itsdescent and to press the aerosol valve on to the edge of the aerosol can108.

The cylindrical hollow slide 117 contains an expanding closing tool 131.The bottom ends of the divided segments of this closing tool constitutebulbous closing instruments. The can is closed by the descent of aninner slide 132 which forces the closing instruments 131 against theskirt of the aerosol valve and by deforming the same causing the valveto be tightly fixed over the beaded rim of the aerosol can.

The inner slide 132 is raised and lowered by the closing cylinder 147.This contains a piston 148 with a sealing ring 149. The inner slide 132is screwed into the bottom end of the piston rod 150 of the closingpiston 148. Compressed air can be admitted alternately through opening153 and 154. When compressed air enters through 153 the piston and itsslide descend, when the air enters through 154 the piston and its sliderise. The closing cylinder 147 and ram piston 119 are integrallyconnected by a sleeve 134. Consequently, the closing cylinder 147 willbe raised and lowered together with ram piston 119.

When the aerosol can has been filled and closed by the sealinginstruments, ram piston 119, the closing cylinder 147, and the outerslide 117 all ascend, thus making room for the introduction of a freshaerosol valve into the closing channel 112. At the same time piston 104and its table 107 carrying the aerosol can 108 descend, permitting thesealed can to be removed and to be replaced by a fresh open can.

FIG. 4 illustrates a modification of the machine according to FIG. 3 inwhich the closing means can be deflectably moved out of alignment withthe axis of the closing channel 112 to facilitate the insertion ofaerosol valves 108 into the channel. The outer slide 117 and the closinginstruments 131 are shown in full lines to indicate their operativeposition whereas the contour in discontinuous lines indicates theposition of the closing head when deflected out of the way.

FIG. 5 is an arrangement which can be advantageously associated with afilling machine according to the invention fitted with an indexingtable. A three-armed spider 202 which can be rotated about its axis 200by the indexing table 201 carries a filling head 203, 204 and 205 at theend of each arm, each head being associated with the necessary feedmeans (lifting tables) for aerosol cans to which aerosol valves are tobe fitted. The propellant gas which is to be metered into the cansenters through the hollow center shaft 200 which has an opening 206facing the filling head 205. The two other filling heads 203 and 204cannot therefore receive the product which is to be filled into the cansuntil they have been indexed into the position now occupied by fillinghead 205. This is the position in which the filling head aligns with aclosing device 207 indicated by a dotted circle in the drawing. The cansand aerosol valves are loaded at station 204. The table 201 is thenindexed to the next station 205 where the aerosol can is lifted, theaerosol valve is pushed downwards into a first stage position, theproduct is filled,

the aerosol valve is further advanced in a second stage movement andsecured by the closing instruments. The table is indexed again carryingthe closed can into position 203, whence the filled and sealed cans canbe removed by hand or by mechanical ejector means not specially shown.

FIG. 6 is an embodiment of a similar device to that shown in FIG. 5,comprising an indexing table 301 with three stations 303, 304 and 305.This embodiment is a modification of the glass bottle filling machineillustrated in FIG. 1. In this machine the closing instruments movetogether with the filling head. On the other hand, the filling tube (28in FIG. 1), ring 44 and plunger 17 are completely retracted from thefilling head 11 to permit the filling head to be indexed. The dottedline circle 307 represents the closing means and ring 44. Whereas inFIG. 5 the product enters through the hollow centre shaft, it isadmitted in the present embodiment through the filling tube 328,corresponding to tube 28 in FIG. 1, which is pushed into the fillinghead by an actuating cylinder 330 containing a piston 333 with a sealingring 334.

' The metering pump 37 (FIG. 1) is thus placed into communication withthe bottle that is to be filled. The filling valve 336 which correspondsto filling valve 36 in FIG. 1, is connected to the filling tube 328 by aflexible pipe 335. Otherwise the operations are exactly analogous tothose in embodiment 4, as shown in FIG. 5.

In the majority of aerosol products two liquids are filled into theaerosol container, namely a non-volatile product, such as aninsecticide, and a vaporisin-g pressure-generating medium, such as thepropellant gas Freon. Moreover, it is frequently desirable to remove theair from the aerosol cans and bottles before the propellant gas isintroduced. FIG. 7 illustrates the principle of a rotary machine whichdilfers from that shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 by comprising a further stationfor filling an additional product and/or an additional station for theintroduction of a gas for flushing the air out of the container. Theindexing table 401 rotates the six stations 403 to 408 in the arroweddirection. The empty can is loaded into the machine at 403. At 404 thefirst nonvolatile product is introduced. This may be done through afilling tube which descends through the open closing channel of thefilling head. At 405 a small quantity of a propellant gas is blown inthrough a similar tube, the vaporisation of this gas expelling the airfrom the can. The valve is inserted into the closing channel from aboveat station 406. Station 407 is located below the closing means 408(dotted circle). At this station the first stage descent of the aerosolvalve, the introduction of the second product (propellant gas), thesecond stage descent of the aerosol valve and the fixation of the valveon the top of the bottle by the closing instruments is efiected. Atstation 408 the closed full aerosol containers are removed or ejected.

The indexing tables illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are not exclusivelyapplicable to the closing devices illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 and 8.They can also be used in association with alternative known filling andclosing machines. More particularly, the filling device shown in FIG. 6which is laterally movable in relation to the machine is not restrictedin application to closing means and indexing table arrangementsaccording to the invention.

Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for filling aerosol containers and applying a valvedclosure thereto, comprising: a filling head having therein an axiallyextended closure feed passageway open at one end for the reception ofvalved closures; means for supporting a container having an open upperend in axially aligned spaced relation to the other end of saidpassageway; means for moving said filling head and said supporting meanstoward one another; means for supporting a valved closure in said feedpassageway; means for forming a sealed chamber between the open upperend of said container and said valved closure upon said movement of saidfilling head and said supporting means; means for introducing apropellant under pressure into said chamber to fill said container;means including a member movable into the open end of said passagewayand shiftable in said passageway for forcing said valved closure intoengagement with the open upper end of said container; and means fordeforming said valved closure into interlocked engagement with said openupper end of said container.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for forcing saidvalved closure into engagement with the open upper end of said containercomprises means for moving said member axially with respect to saidpassageway and out of said one end thereof to allow the placement insaid passageway of said valved closure.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for forcing saidvalved closure into engagement with the open upper end of said containercomprises means for moving said member axially with respect to saidpassageway and out of said one end thereof to allow the placement insaid passageway of said valved closure and for returning said memberinto said passageway, and said means for forming a sealed chamberincluding sealing means cooperative with said member in said passagewayfor sealing said passageway above said valved closure.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for introducing apropellant into said chamber comprises a supply tube and means mountingsaid supply tube for movement into and out of the open upper end of saidcontainer between a closure in said passageway and the open upper end ofsaid container.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for introducing apropellant into said chamber comprises an inlet passage in said fillinghead leading into said passageway between a valved closure in saidpassageway and the open upper end of said container, and means forforcing said propellant material through said inlet passage.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for supporting avalved closure in said passageway includes retractible means projectinginto said feed passageway for positioning a valved closure in spacedrelation to the open upper end of said container prior to engagement ofsaid member with said valved closure.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said valved closure isprovided with a portion adapted to be disposed exteriorly of a neck onsaid container and wherein said means for deforming said valved closureincludes means carried by said filling head and operable to deform saidportion of said valved closure into clamped engagement with said neck ofsaid container.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said valved closure isprovided with a portion adapted to be disposed within the open upper endof said container and said means for deforming said valved closureincludes means carried by said member for forcing said valve closuresinto engagement with the open upper end of said container for deformingsaid portion into clamped engagement with said open upper end of saidcontainer.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for supporting acontainer comprises a receptacle for said container, said means formoving said filling head and said supporting means toward one anotherincluding actuator means for moving said receptacle toward and away fromsaid filling head, and said means for forming a sealed chamber includingsealing means between said receptacle and said filling head.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for supporting acontainer comprises a table for said container, said means for movingsaid filling head and said supporting means toward one another includingactuator means for moving said table toward and away from said fillinghead, and said means for forming a sealed chamber including sealingmeans carried by said filling head and engageable with said containerupon movement of said table toward said filling head.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein guide means is provided insaid passageway for guiding into the open upper end of said container adip tube depending from said valved closure as the latter is movedtoward the open upper end of said container, said guide means includingresiliently outwardly flexible elements for allowing the passage of saidvalved closure through said guide means.

12. The method of charging an aerosol container with a propellant underpressure and applying a valved closure to the container, comprising:positioning a container having an open upper end in coaxial alignmentwith a closure feed passage in a filling head; placing a valved closurein one end of said feed passageway in axially spaced relation to theopen upper end of said container; forming a sealed chamber below saidvalved closure in said passageway and disposing the open upper end ofsaid container in said chamber; introducing a propellant charge intosaid sealed chamber and filling said container therewith; forcing saidvalved closure axially from the other end of said feed passageway andinto engagement with the open upper end of said container; and deformingsaid valved closure into interlocked engagement with the open upper endof said container while maintaining said sealed chamber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,406,703 2/ 1922 Townsend 53-952,881,576 4/1959 Nebinger 53-88 2,947,126 8/1960 Focht 53-88 2,958,17011/1960 Mayer 53112 X 2,973,609 3/1961 Morgan 53-112 3,157,974 11/1964Stanley et al 53112 X TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE. Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No 3 ,336,720 August 22 1967 Egon Johann Honisch It is certified that errorappears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent arehereby corrected as shown below:

lines 9 and 10, "closing channel" should read Column 4 Column 6 line 50channel or closure feed passageway "108" should read 113 Signed andsealed this 15th day of January 1970.

Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR

12. THE METHOD OF CHARGING AN AEROSOL CONTAINER WITH A PROPELLANT UNDERPRESSURE AND APPLYING A VALVED CLOSURE TO THE CONTAINER, COMPRISING:POSITIONING A CONTAINER HAVING AN OPEN UPPER END IN COAXIAL ALIGNMENTWITH A CLOSURE FEED PASSAGE IN A FILLING HEAD; PLACING A VALVED CLOSUREIN ONE END OF SAID FEED PASSAGEWAY IN AXIALLY SPACED RELATION TO THEUPPER END OF SAID CONTAINER; FORMING A SEALED CHAMBER BELOW SAID VALVEDCLOSURE IN SAID PASSAGEWAY AND DISPOSING THE OPEN UPPER END OF SAIDCONTAINER IN SAID CHAMBER; INTRODUCING A PROPELLANT CHARGE INTO SAIDSEALED CHAMBER AND FILLING SAID CONTAINER THEREWITH; FORCING SAID VALVEDCLOSURE AXIALLY FROM THE OTHER END OF SAID FEED PASSAGEWAY AND INTOENGAGEMENT WITH THE OPEN UPPER END OF SAID CONTAINER; AND DEFORMING SAIDVALVED CLOSURE INTO INTERLOCKED ENGAGEMENT WITH THE OPEN UPPER END OFSAID CONTAINER WHILE MAINTAINING SAID SEALED CHAMBER.